My version of Johnny Marzetti, a well-loved baked casserole originating in Ohio, made with ground beef and pork, the trinity of southern cooking, tomato soup, mushrooms, egg noodles and cheese.

Johnny Marzetti Casserole - My Way

I know, I know... it's HOT! But this is one of my favorite casseroles to make, and I've made it twice here recently, so yeah, I'm sharing it, right in the heat of the summer.

Besides, it's a terrific potluck carry too that everybody enjoys.

There is something about the combination of textures and flavors here that make this an outstanding meal anytime of the year and perfect if you have a countertop oven (#ad), which is what I use the most these days anyway, especially in the summer.

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Although I had heard of it, I actually didn't know much about this casserole until a reader over my Facebook page who grew up in Ohio commented about it when I shared my American-style goulash recipe. Thinking there was a difference between my goulash and what I'd heard before, I started looking into it.

Though nobody in the family has actually collaborated the story and vintage menus that have been found apparently never showed it on their restaurant menu, the common story is that this dish originated in the early 1900s from Teresa Marzetti.

Teresa was the owner of an Italian restaurant called Marzetti's located near Ohio University, and she wanted to create a dish that was appealing and affordable for the local college students. The result was named after Johnny Marzetti, Teresa's brother-in-law, and from there, it expanded into school cafeterias and even home kitchens.

Apparently, the restaurant shut down sometime in the 70s, but you may recognize the Marzetti name from a number of salad dressing products (#ad) in the supermarket, some of which you may even use on the regular! 

Just a quick reminder.... if you aren't interested in the chit chat, info, photos, tips and such on a blog, as always, you'll find the complete recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll down to the bottom of the post!

Recipes across the net claiming to be original and based on the Ohio Historical Society, include sauteed onion with mushrooms, ground beef, a large tomato sauce, elbow macaroni and cheese and is baked.

Of course, what I discovered more than anything, is that everybody makes this dish differently!

• Sometimes only ground beef is used, although it is usually 2 pounds.
• Other times it's a mix of ground beef with raw sausage.
• Sometimes it's made with tomato sauce.
• Sometimes it's made with sauce and diced tomatoes.
• Other times, it's made with condensed tomato soup.
• Sometimes it's made with egg noodles.
• Other times it's made with elbow macaroni.
• Sometimes it's baked.
• Other times it's done fully on the stovetop in a skillet.
• Sometimes fresh or canned mushrooms are added.
• Others leave them out.
• Some recipes include olives.

With similar ingredients, I can certainly see how some families associate this dish with what we know in the south as goulash!

I've tried many of the variations before I found my own perfect match up, made with a mix of ground beef and breakfast sausage, egg noodles over elbows, condensed tomato soup over sauce, canned mushrooms because I always have those in the pantry, and cheese. I also seasoned my version with the classic trinity - onion, bell pepper and celery - and I also preferred baking it over just cooking it like I would goulash on the stovetop. 

If you've been around my website any length of time, you've probably seen mention of these Mrs. Miller noodles (#ad). I absolutely love them! For this casserole I've used both Old Fashioned Wide and Old Fashioned Extra Wide. If you love homemade noodles without having to make them from scratch yourself, you will love these too.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and set aside, or plan to use an oven safe skillet you can transfer directly to the oven. 

Cook noodles al dente according to package directions; drain and set aside.

I'm using a mix of breakfast sausage and 85/15 ground beef.

I love using the trinity in my cooking, but this time I'm doing something a little different with it!

You may remember me having mentioned this before on the website, but I recently purchased a dried vegetable mix that I have fallen in love with.

Produce seems to go bad on me so fast anymore that once I found this, I've replaced a good bit of my fresh trinity with it in a lot of recipes from soups, to casseroles to gumbo and everywhere I really can.

There are lots of different dried vegetable mixes (#ad) out there these days, but this C'est Tout brand (#ad) is locally Certified Cajun and contains a classic trinity of dried yellow and green onion, red and green bell pepper and celery - and it is so fragrant! Y'all have to check it out.

I rehydrated it in some boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drained it. Of course, if you're using fresh onion, bell pepper and celery you won't need to do this step.

Another great range of dried products I've recently discovered are these freeze-dried products from Litehouse (#ad). Available for all kinds of spices, herbs and veggies as well as blends, they sure come in handy when you find you've run out of fresh. Check them out sometime too y'all!

Back to the recipe! Melt 1/2 stick of unsalted butter in a large skillet.

Here you'll add the fresh onion, bell pepper and celery or in my case today, the rehydrated veggies. Sauté in the butter until tender.

Add beef and sausage and using a masher break it all up, cooking until browned. Drain off any excess fat, if desired. Unless I have a lot of fat, I don't usually drain that because it's flavor y'all.

As you can see there isn't a lot of fat in the skillet! Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Stir in condensed tomato soup, water and mushrooms. I've used tomato sauce as well, but I find that the condensed soup contributes more to the overall flavor of the dish than sauce did, I'm using jarred mushrooms for convenience because I always have them in the pantry.

Blend all of that together.

Add the cooked noodles and stir together gently until everything is well mixed and heated through. Now, once it's heated through, you could potentially just eat this as is, right out of the pot, and it appears that some folks do just that!

I'm going to go with the more common baked version.

Here's where you will taste and add salt, pepper and Creole or Cajun seasoning as desired. Remember, what it tastes like now, is what it will taste like when it's finished y'all!

Southern Style Hissy Fit Warning: Whenever I am goofing off and browsing around the web, I sometimes see review comments at both blogs and big corporate recipe sites, saying a dish was "bland." This makes me a little crazy. Here's why.

Remember, seasoning measurements in a recipe are always suggestions, because you need to taste your dishes and adjust those seasonings to your own personal tastes. Any bland result is actually on the cook - not the recipe, so remember to always taste and adjust folks! {tucking away soapbox}

Speaking of the internet and seasonings... while in the midst of that goofing off and browsing, I kept seeing gravity salt and pepper shakers (#ad) everywhere, so I finally gave them a try.

Game changer!

Just grab them, turn them upside down, dispense what you want and turn them back up. No grinding. By the way I like using the mixed rainbow peppercorns (#ad) in mine. Typical blends include not only black peppercorns, but also pink, green and white, providing a more complex flavor profile.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.

Top with half of the cheese and bake, uncovered for about 30 minutes, since you've already heated the ingredients through, or until bubbly.

Remove from oven. Already looks pretty good doesn't it?

Top with remaining cheese and return to oven about another 10 to 15 minutes...

... or until nicely browned on top and cheese is melted. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Dig in! I really, really love this casserole y'all and just looking at the pictures make me want to make it again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

For more of my favorite casseroles, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!

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Posted by DeepSouthDish.com on June 14, 2024

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